Fun Costa Rica Surf Camp in Dominical

Join the best surf school in Green Iguana Surf Camp. The instructors here care about giving you the best service they can provide and are excellent natural teachers of this wonderful, healthy, and natural sport. It gets you in good shape, gives you a nice tan, and best of all, it's fun! Green Iguana Surf Camp is simply the finest choice you can make for a Costa Rica surf school. Get your chance to breathe in the clean air and relax with the nice ocean breeze!

Highlights

Daily surf lessons

River tubing tour or snorkeling

Zip line tour and waterfall trips

Photographer to document your surf lessons

6 nights' accommodation

All transportation

Skill level

Beginner

Styles

Accommodation

You will stay at Sundancer hotel for 7 days, a peaceful, tranquil lodging in the middle of town, about 15 meters from the beach. It is the most recommended budget option offered at Green Iguana Surf Camp. The hotel has a great, peaceful atmosphere and has both a swimming pool and free Wi-Fi.

The rooms at Sundancer hotel are small and basic but clean and comfortable. Sundancer is always a calm, inviting place, even when town is crowded, and is an excellent choice for those looking for something simple while still getting to surf every day when the tide invites you in.

Green Iguana Surf Camp Surf Camp in Costa Rica Program

Green Iguana Surf Camp is highly experienced in teaching beginners everything they need to know about surfing, including the basics of reading the ocean and surf, how to paddle your surfboard properly, and of course, how to stand up and ride waves. Their surf instructors have an unparalleled knowledge of local waves and conditions, and always know when it's going to be good, which surf spot will be the best, and which kind of surfboard is best suited for you.

You will decide to take the drop and paddle into either a pleasant little wave or perhaps a thick, heart-pounding giant, fly along at an easy speed or a breakneck pace, enter the blue and white darkness and get fired back out into bright light, give it one more big move, and then at the end, either gently cruise out the back for another one or wipeout.

Green Iguana Surf Camp truly cares about more than just making a few dollars, they enjoy teaching people from around the world this wonderful life, with the goal that they'll come away with much more than just having learned to ride waves in a Costa Rica surf camp.

The spirit of surfing really is a very special thing, and is why thousands of people change their lives just to be close to the ocean and the surf. There truly is something magical about riding an ocean wave, and for many, it's that missing link they've always searched for, the one that makes their lives complete.

This philosophy is shared by all of the Green Iguana Surf Camp staff. They have the best teachers to this sport / lifestyle, and their mission is to teach you not just the mechanics, but how to love to surf and show you the vacation of your life.

Most people who join this surf camp are between 20 and 40 years old. However, Green Iguana Surf Camp also accepts kids as young as 6 years old. Kids have a lot of fun and learn quickly. Anyone who is 18 years old or younger who wants to participate in the camp must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

The courses include one or two surf lessons per day, timed according to the tides. The surf courses also include unlimited surfboard use. Green Iguana Surf Camp will provide guided transportation to local surf spots on every lesson.

Please note that Green Iguana Surf Camp does require all surf school participants to have some basic swimming abilities. If you can tread water for ten minutes and swim a few laps in a large pool without feeling beat, then no problem, you're ready to go surfing. Aloe Gator surfing sunblock can be found in local surf shops. If you manage to forget your swimming trunks, you can find surf shorts and bathing suits / bikinis there as well.

Itinerary

Day 1

The first lesson will be held during low to medium tide at Dominical beach. This lesson teaches you the fundamentals and how to stay safe in the ocean. You'll learn about surfing etiquette, how to avoid accidents in the water which surfer has the right-of-way, and how to give and receive courtesy in the surf.

The first part of the lesson is spent on the beach, where you'll learn about the effects that tide, wind, and swell direction have on the surf, how to read ocean swells, and how to read and avoid rip currents. The rest of the first lesson is spent in the water, learning how to paddle your board, getting up to your feet, and riding some fun little waves.

Day 2

Today is where you step it up a notch, from the whitewater waves to the outside break. Lesson two teaches you how to paddle out to the main lineup, how to deal with incoming waves, how to sit up on your board (tougher than it sounds), and how to paddle into waves and get up to your feet.

Lessons two and on are normally held at several other beaches in the south of Dominical, including Playa Dominicalito, Hermosa, and Ballena in order to find the best waves for the day's conditions. These very beautiful and secluded beaches are ideal for surfing in Costa Rica.

Day 3 - 7

The next series of lessons are held at the area's beach breaks. These lessons are designed to teach you to ride the face of the wave with the main focuses being on wave judgment and timing, catching waves with correct form, getting up to your feet properly, and learning how to make some basic turns.

The object of these lessons is to build up muscle memory, a term that refers to the body's ability to learn a particular movement after many repetitions without the mind consciously thinking about it, which is very important when you're learning to take off on a wave. Green Iguana Surf Camp will give you the knowledge and skill you need to keep on surfing, whether at home or on future surfing destinations.

Included excursions

A guided tour to Reptilandia Reptile Park.

Super fun zip line tour through the jungle canopy at a private nature reserve where you can see sloths, many kinds of birds, monkeys, coatimundis, and much more.

Trips to two beautiful waterfalls, after each of your surf lessons, to rinse off and have fun.

Nice and slow river tubing tour down the Rio Baru where you'll experience a nice combination of nature and relaxation (May - October).

Snorkeling above some of the Dominical's beautiful reefs where you'll see starfish, ornamental reef fish, lobsters, parrot fish, and much more (November - April).

Location

Your surf camp will take place in Dominical town. It is located along Costa Rica's southern Pacific beaches and about a third of the way up the coast from Panama. Though Dominical is famous mainly for its beautiful beaches and super-consistent and well-formed waves, the area is also known among seasoned travelers as one of Costa Rica's top beach destinations, and unlike the popular Jaco and Tamarindo beaches, is still relatively undeveloped.

This vacation is not in the heart of what could be called "typical tourism" here in Costa Rica. Instead of the high rise hotels and American fast food restaurants that are now typical of the more crowded Americanized northern and central Costa Rican surf towns, in Dominical, the geography is such that there is simply not much room for growth.

Here in Dominical, the rain forest still continues right on down out of the mountains and virtually covers the town. To put it simply, Green Iguana Surf Camp still has that perfect authentic Costa Rican blend of great, consistent surf, beautiful beaches, lots of friendly locals, and very limited development, a feeling that people only really get to know once they've been here and experienced it. Dominical is a rustic place that offers plenty of solitude and privacy, and there is certainly never the scenario of stepping over bodies to try and find a spot to put your towel down.

Dominical has some great local restaurants, with some of the best located right in or near Green Iguana Surf Camp. There are several small surf shops in town for all your surfing needs, where you can buy high quality surfing sunblock, which are definitely recommended for surfing here in the tropics. In Dominical, there are also several small supermarkets and fruit stands. Everything is within walking distance of each other.

Nearby places

Green Iguana Surf Camp office, 100 meters

Playa Dominical, 130 meters

Things to do (optional)

You can try river rafting to take a wild journey down some of the most exciting rivers to be found in Costa Rica.

What's included

1 river tubing tour or snorkeling

1 zip line tour

6 nights’ accommodation

A guided tour to Reptilandia Reptile Park

A photographer to document your surf lessons and waterfall trips

Airport transfers

All transportation

Daily surf lessons

Trips to two beautiful waterfalls

Unlimited surfboard and SUP use

How to get there

Arrival by airplane

You can book your flight to any airport in Costa Rica and send Green Iguana Surf Camp the information so that they can pick you up from the airport. The trip to Green Iguana Surf Camp from the airport takes about 2 and a half to 3 and a half hours. The pick-up is included in the price.

Cancellation Policy

The deposit is fully refundable if the booking is cancelled up to 2 days before the arrival date.